G6 Alliance to extend reach to WCNA, trans-Atlantic trade lanes

The G6 Alliance said on December 3 it plans to expand to the Asia-West Coast of North America (WCNA) and trans-Atlantic trade lanes to offer shippers a wider coverage area and shorter transit times without reducing capacity.

“The proposed expansion will complement our existing services in the Asia-North America East Coast and Asia-Europe trades, allowing us to deploy the most suitable ship for each loop across the trades,” said an official consortium statement.

The alliance plans to deploy 76 ships to 12 services connecting 27 Asian and North America West Coast ports.

Another 42 ships will be deployed to five services, including two pendulum services, in the trans-Atlantic trade lane. These ships will call at 25 ports covering the U.S. East Coast, U.S. West Coast, Canada, Panama, Mexico, the Netherlands, UK, France, Belgium, and Germany.

The new services are scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2014, pending regulatory approval.

With the expansion, the alliance will create a network encompassing all East-West trade lanes, deploying a total of about 240 vessels connecting 66 Asian, American, and European ports.

Details on services and port rotations will be announced at a later date, said the alliance, adding that its members will continue to market their services individually.

The G6 Alliance was formed in late 2011 and began operating in March 2012 in the Asia-Europe and Mediterranean trade. The cooperation expanded to the Asia-East Coast of North America trade lane in May 2013.